NATIONAL VIDEO

One last day; Mule Camp Market winding down

The lack of rain in Northeast Georgia has one good side: It made for a sunny, cloudless day for the Mule Camp Market festival on Saturday.

Although plenty of shelter was available in the numerous tents that lined the streets.

The Gainesville Jaycees sponsor the festival, now in its 15th year. Officials said they had 175 booths and expected from 75,000 to 100,000 to attend over the three days. The festival started Friday.

People milled about the festival on the Gainesville square Saturday, browsing the different tents, gawking at high school students’ construction projects and making sure they got some of those festival vittles. The line for the funnel cakes was testament to that last fact.

Little girls ran around with their hair spray-painted crazy colors after getting it done at a tent called "Groovy Doos," run by Kathryn Goss of Habersham County.

Goss said she had done hundreds of girls’ heads in a four-hour period. Girls crowded around Goss to get their hair done to look something similar to little Cindy Lou Who from Dr. Seuss’ "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

She said she got the idea from her teenage daughter’s homecoming activities, and has been traveling to festivals about every other weekend since the summer started.

Other people thumbed through books provided by the Daughters of the Confederacy as a band played Lynyrd Skynyrd’s "Sweet Home Alabama" on the square.

Some browsed the various jewelry stands, looked at other handmade artwork, or examined furniture. Items ranged from wooden toys to iron yard ornaments, all created by area craftsmen.

The ages of artists varied, and even featured some work from Hall County’s high school students.